Chapter 25:
They walk side by side into the breakfast lounge, and everybody freezes, eyes wide and staring at the pair of Norse gods as they draw nearer.
Tony drops his cup of coffee, cursing sharply as the hot liquid scalds his hand.
No one else moves, and Thor is the first to speak then.
"Good morrow friends!" He booms loudly, slapping his hand down over Loki's shoulder.
Loki rolls his eyes, himself remaining silent.
Everyone is staring at him, and he stares back.
"I bring glad tidings!" Thor continues, seemingly oblivious to the glaring match going on. "My brother has deigned to join us for breakfast this day!"
"Well isn't that nice." Tony says, still running his hand under cold water at the sink. "I wonder what was wrong with yesterday? Or the day before that?"
"Stark." Natasha shoots, voice thick with warning.
"What?" Tony shoots back, seemingly innocent.
The assassin only rolls her eyes, glancing away.
Thor frowns.
"Is it not happy news?" He asks.
Loki smirks, arms folding over his chest.
"I think, Thor, not for them. They would prefer I stay holed up and unseen. What is that queer little saying you mortals have? Out of sight, out of mind?"
Bruce and Tony frown. Steve looks decidedly nervous, and Clint looks like he's about to spontaneously combust.
Thor glances at Loki a moment, worried, before casting his eyes back to his comrades.
"This is not true, is it friends?" He asks, sincerely concerned. "You would welcome my brother and treat him as your equal, would you not?"
"Hey, if he treats us like equals, no prob." Tony replies, coming around the counter, moving to the dining table where everyone else is seated and pulling out a chair. He flops down gracelessly, and Loki wrinkles his nose.
"Well of course he will friends!" Thor says, as though it should be a foregone conclusion. "You will Loki, yes?" He looks to the younger god.
Loki smiles charmingly at him.
"Of course I will Thor." He says. "I would not dare think of treating them elsewise."
"Yeah fuckin' right." Clint mumbles under his breath, hands gripping dangerously tight round his mug.
There comes a tense silence then, everyone staring and uneasy, before at last, the others go back to their food, immersing themselves in it, trying to ignore the discomfort.
Thor seems unaware of it as he guides Loki towards the table, pulling out a chair and very nearly forcing him down to sit in it.
Loki swats him away.
"I think I can manage well enough on my own Thor, thank you." He says, lowering himself with fluid delicacy into the seat, sitting with straight backed posture, every part of him seeming controlled and contained.
Thor just grins, before moving away, towards the counter and coffee pot.
Everyone keeps stealing glances at the trickster god, and Loki nearly begins to laugh at how very without subtly they are, despite their best efforts.
He looks back at them every now and then, smirking as their eyes shift quickly away, and he wonders if they think they're really fooling him.
The only ones who don't glance away are Natasha and Clint, and for them, he gives a full show of teeth.
"Anthony" Thor starts from the counter, having gotten himself a cup of coffee by now. "What you shared with me this past morning, what did you call it?"
"Cereal." Tony answers flatly, again glancing at Loki.
Loki is seeming to examine his fingernails now, expression utterly bored.
"Yes! Cereal!" Thor says excitedly. "I think my brother would enjoy this meal. Would you be willing to help me prepare him a dish?"
Tony shoots a glare at the thunder god, frowning.
"Twinkle toes over there can serve himself, big man." He says defensively. "Tony Stark doesn't serve other people."
"Yes, but I am not other people as you say, Man of Iron." Loki says slyly, finally looking up. "I am a god."
He grins, and it takes every ounce of Tony's will power not to launch himself across the table and start choking the son of a bitch.
"But Anthony," Thor begins, missing the exchange. "I do not know how to prepare it as you did, and neither does Loki. We require assistance in the matter."
"Damn it Thor!" Tony turns back to him, losing his patience.
Loki is unnerving the fuck out of him, with that shit eating grin of his.
"All you do is poor some of the cereal from the box, which you'll find in the cabinet behind you, into a bowl, poor milk into the bowl with it, shove a spoon in, and wala! Instant cereal!" He nearly yells.
Thor looks taken aback, blinking, and suddenly the amusement drains from Loki's face.
"You would take care in how you speak to my brother, Man of Iron." He says, voice eerily calm. "He is a Prince of Asgard. True royalty, descendent from a long line of others the same. Not merely some little man who pretends himself to be."
"You son of a…"
"Guys, cool it!" Steve finally interjects, feeling himself growing queasy.
"But he…!" Tony starts, and Steve just shakes his head.
"I'm telling you, both of you, right now, drop it!"
Tony looks like he's about to say something else, mouth dropping open. Steve only continues to stare back at him, and finally the billionaire falls back in his seat with a huff, folding his arms and looking away, mumbling something incoherent.
Loki only smiles, going back to examining his nails.
Thor, meanwhile, has already begun attempting to put the cereal together, making bowls both for himself and Loki.
He comes back towards the dining table a few minutes later, balancing the dishes while he attempts also to hold his cup of coffee, setting the bowl down in front of the younger god before taking a seat beside him.
Loki stares down at the meal, frowning vaguely.
"Thor, this contains milk." He says after a moment.
Thor grins.
"Yes. It is quite good brother. Try it. You will enjoy it."
"Milk is for infants." Loki replies flatly.
"Well then it's perfect for you." Tony says, bringing his cup of coffee up to his lips. "Considering how much Thor babies you and all."
Loki's eyes shift to him, narrowing.
Tony smiles back before tipping the cup to drink.
"Wittle bitty baby…" he mocks, hushed.
Loki gestures with his hand beneath the table, and in the next instant, the coffee from Tony's mug sprays up, into his face, and the billionaire sputters, shocked, dropping the cup.
"What the hell…!" He gasps, completely confused.
"Klutz." Bruce chuckles at him. "That's the second time this morning you've spilt your drink like that man."
Tony shoots him a withering glare.
Loki represses the smile threatening the tug at his lips, turning his attention back to the bowl of cereal.
He shakes his head.
"I will not eat this Thor." He says quietly.
"But Loki, you must eat." Thor insists.
"Perhaps later." He replies. "I am not hungry now as is."
Tony is still wiping coffee from his face, muttering profanities.
Clint's frown deepens, watching him, before glancing back to the trickster god.
He can feel his hands tightening to fists.
He hasn't told anyone yet about his encounter with Loki last night.
Of course, Jarvis's security feed somehow missed recording the whole thing, and the archer doesn't need to ask how.
He'd lain awake all night thinking of it, of what Loki had said to him, at the fucking gall of him, working himself up more and more into a near uncontrollable rage.
And he can feel what little control he has on it now slipping rapidly through his fingers.
"… You did that!" He snaps suddenly.
Everyone at the table looks to him, faces puzzled.
Loki tilts his head.
"Pardon?" He asks.
"You!" Clint points an accusing finger at him. "You did something to make Tony's coffee splash up into his face!"
Loki smiles.
"Perhaps." He replies. "But one cannot say he did not deserve it."
Clint stares back at him, appalled.
"Are you fucking nuts?"
Thor glances to Tony, just noticing for the first time the state of him, and he chuckles heartily.
"A bit of fun my friends." He says, as though that should be explanation enough.
"Fun?" Clint growls. "That coffee was hot! It could have burnt the shit out of him!"
"I made certain to cool it beforehand." Loki says easily. "It did your Man of Iron no harm."
Tony looks completely lost, and Clint throws his hands up in anger.
"Oh, well, that just makes everything okay then!" He snaps.
"Clint…" Natasha reaches out, placing a hand gently along his wrist. "it's okay."
"It's not okay!" Clint shoots viciously, glaring at her.
"Friends, friends…" Thor holds up his hands, placating. "When Loki is near, you are to expect acts of mischief. It is what he does."
"What he does?" Clint says, indignant.
"Yes," Thor nods, smiling softly. "Always has it been my little brother who has kept our senses sharp and minds alert. Around him, it becomes necessity, and he has made better warriors out of all of us for it. But ever are his pranks harmless and meant only in fun. You should not take it to heart."
For a moment, Clint stares incredulously back at the thunder god, the rest sat in awkward silence, unsure of how to respond.
But abruptly, the archer pushes himself to his feet.
"Okay." He says. "Alright. We shouldn't take it to heart?"
And he steps around the table, beginning towards Loki.
"Clint, what are you doing?" Natasha stands.
He ignores her, coming to a stop directly before the trickster.
Loki looks up at him, smiling softly.
Clint's face is twisted in a scowl of distain.
"We shouldn't take it to heart, then he shouldn't take this to heart either."
Loki can see what he intends, and he allows it, smile turning to a grin as suddenly Clint rears his arm back, backhanding the god as hard as he can across the mouth.
The blow does nothing to move Loki, who sits the same, still grinning.
Thor shoots to his feet, eyes wide, the same as everyone else.
And an instant later, Clint is hunched over, grasping his hand and turning away.
"Mother fuc…" he gasps, pain ratcheting up his arm, into his shoulder.
He realizes suddenly his hand is broken.
"Fucking fu… fuck…" He gasps again, stumbling away.
"You… you broke my hand!" He shouts, taking another step forward before turning, looking back to Loki.
Loki frowns slightly then, before waving a finger.
"Ah, ah. This is misrepresentation of facts, little Hawk." He replies. "It is more, you broke your hand striking my face."
"You dare strike my brother Barton?" Thor booms suddenly, stepping around, seemingly unconcerned by it being the archer who's been injured and not Loki.
Loki reaches out, taking hold of Thor's wrist, staying him.
"It is fine Thor." He says calmly.
"It is not fine!" The thunder god says. "He attacked you openly!"
"And he has learned for the third time a foolhardy endeavor it is. He may be slow to comprehend, but even the dullest of wits will eventually understand to touch a heated iron will result in their hand being burned."
"This is… this is insane!" Clint snaps.
He turns to his teammates.
"Don't you see how insane this is?" He asks, voice urgent and thick with pain. "Don't you see how dangerous he is!?"
"Clint, you need to calm down." Natasha says, stepping towards him.
He glares at her in astonishment.
"The hell I do!" He spits. "Don't you see what he's doing? He's…" he gestured wildly back at the two gods. "he's ripping us apart, just… just like last time! He's…"
"Clint," Bruce steps in, standing. "calm down man. You…" he shakes his head. "you're the one who hit him, remember."
Clint gapes, unable to believe this.
"What the fuck!" He snaps. "What the fuck! Has he… has he got you all under some kind of mind control or something? What the fuck is going on here?"
"I have them under no such influence or spell." Loki says evenly, calmly.
"He does not." Thor affirms, voice edged hard and angry.
The tension in the room is almost unbearable.
"Clint, just calm down." Steve tries now. "We'll… we'll work this out. We'll…"
"Stop TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN!" The archer screams, losing it completely now. "This mother fucker has got you all fucked in the heads, and you're all to damned STUPID to see it! He… he came down to the training room last night while I was there!"
He turns, pointing accusingly at Loki.
Loki doesn't move, staring back at him, face impassive.
"He fucking BYSPASSED your security systems like they were nothing Tony!" Clint looks to the billionaire.
Tony looks concerned.
"And?" Steve asks.
"And WHAT?" Clint shoots.
"So he bypassed Jarvis and got into the training room. What did he do down there?"
"What do you mean, what did he do?" The archer asks. "Isn't the fact he broke protocol enough?"
"Well we invited him to stay here Clint." Bruce says, trying to stay calm, feeling himself begin to wind just slightly with tension. "That means by default he kind of has access to the same facilities we do. Him not using the scanner to get in is sort of a formality, don't you think?"
Clint just glares, mouth hung open and silent.
"Did he hurt you?" Steve asks.
Clint turns to him.
"What?" He asks.
"Did he hurt you? Did Loki attack you in any way?"
For a moment, Clint says nothing, just staring, before he begins to stammer.
"Well… well n-no… No. Not physically, but…"
"Then what's the problem soldier?" Steve presses.
Again, Clint falls silent, eyes wide and furious.
Long, strained moments pass.
And then he shakes his head.
"Don't you idiots see?" He asks. "It's… it's the things he says! He's manipulating us!"
"My brother is not manipulating you." Thor steps in again, unable to keep the rage from his voice. "Believe me Barton, if he were, you would not even begin to realize it."
Natasha frowns, feeling herself bristle at the memory of Loki's words, telling her how he had tricked her into thinking she had tricked him, knowing she would go to Bruce and push and push until he lost control… realizing later it all had been true after thinking on it. Realizing her wariness now towards Loki. Her hesitation to engage him. And it makes her mad, because she's never hesitated to engage anyone. Never met anyone she wasn't sure she could handle. Only him… him, she knows deep in her gut she can't… And she's sure she hates him for it, almost as much as she hates him for what he did to Clint…
But she's scared… because she doesn't want Clint near him… doesn't want to give Loki any reason to set his eyes on Clint… to set his mind on him…
She wants him to back down right now. She wants him to forget it.
Just forget it Clint…
Clint whirls, staring at the thunder god only a moment, scowling, before turning to Tony.
"What the hell about what he just did to Tony?" He snaps, changing subjects. "Don't any of you have a problem with that?"
Tony fidgets, looking intensely uncomfortable.
Steve frowns.
"I'm not for playing pranks while on the job." He starts…
"Well?" Clint presses, holding his hands up.
"But it's not unheard of among the group." He goes on, unfazed. "We've all played practical jokes on one another. As long as it's off duty and doesn't hurt anyone…"
Clint turns to Tony, as though imploring the billionaire to say something.
Tony stares back.
"What?" He asks, nervous.
"Tony, did Loki… I mean, what he did, did it hurt you in any way?" Steve questions instead.
Tony frowns, glancing at Clint before averting his gaze to the Captain.
"Uh… no…" he says. "Not… not really. Just sort of surprised me… I… I guess."
Steve nods, looking back to the archer.
"Then we don't have a problem, really." He says. "Unless we set specific ground rules that no one can play pranks on anyone else, as long as Loki doesn't hurt anyone, we can't fairly exclude him from it just because of who he is."
Loki smiles at that.
"Perhaps you lot are not so drab as you gave the initial impression of." He says.
Steve shoots him a look, pointing.
"Don't push it Loki." He says.
And Loki just shrugs, leaning his chin against his fist, sighing as though bored.
"You know what, fuck this!" Clint says suddenly. "Fuck ALL of this, and fuck all of you! You want him? You can fucking have him! I'm out!"
"Clint, come on man, don't be like that…" Bruce starts as the archer begins towards the door.
But Clint just ignores him, blowing by.
He doesn't stop, disappearing a moment later through the entry, turning the corner and vanishing from sight.
No one says anything as Natasha follows after him, wordless.
Bruce falls back in his seat, running a hand through his hair, exhaling loudly.
Thor remains standing, looking as irritated as any of them have ever seen him.
Loki remains sitting, giving no indication that any of what just happened has had any affect on him at all.
Tony feels a chill run down his spine at the sight, before he coughs conspicuously, and comments humorously, because that's what he does when he's uncomfortable…
"Well, that went about as well as last time." He says. "Gold stars all around, eh?"
"Tony," Steve says tiredly. "just shut up."
"What?" Tony sits up straighter. "Why are you telling me to shut up? How is this my fau…"
"He's going to tell Fury." Bruce interrupts.
Everyone looks to him.
The scientist fidgets nervously, pressing his glasses up his nose.
"Clint, he's upset, and I think he's going to tell Fury about Loki." He repeats.
"This is unacceptable." Thor begins. "Your Director is beyond reason. He…"
"Sir, Director Nick Fury is on the line." Jarvis suddenly disrupts.
"What?" Tony starts, eyes wide. "That's… wait… he just left. There's no way he could've told him that quickly."
"Well we were going to have to tell him eventually anyway." Steve says, sounding unsure.
"But now is not the ideal time for it!" Thor snaps, agitated. "He is still doubtless incensed by mine and Loki's escape from his flying craft, and Loki's refusal to provide his wanted information."
Loki begins to chuckle, clearly highly amused by it all.
Steve glares at him before looking to Thor.
"Yeah," he says. "but that doesn't mean…"
"Sir, Director Fury says it is urgent. He is demanding you take the call now." Jarvis cuts in.
"Well shit…" Tony throws his hands up. "Put him through, I guess."
"Yes Sir." Jarvis confirms.
Tony swallows.
"Well here we go…" he says, uneasy as he glances between Loki and Thor.
A moment later, Fury's voice comes through the intercom, and he sounds pissed.
"Stark, you got everyone there?"
"You mean the whole team?" Tony answers.
"No, I mean all those bimbos you bring back with you every night and can't get rid of in the mornings!" Fury snaps. "Yes, I mean the whole team!"
"Uhh… yeah." Tony replies. "Well, Clint and Natasha kind of just stormed out, but…"
"I don't give a damn. Just shut up and listen." Fury cuts him short. "There's a terrorist attack in progress, downtown Manhattan, as we speak. It looks like they're targeting Central Park. I don't know who the hell these guys are, but they're packing some serious fucking fire power. They've already set off some kind of bomb and killed civilians. I need all of you to intercept and take them out, before they kill anyone else or cause any more damage. ASAP. Got it?"
"Damn…" Bruce mutters.
"Sir, yes Sir." Tony salutes, despite there being no video feed.
"Just get on it." The Director spits. "Fury out."
The line goes dead, and for a moment, the room falls into silence.
"Well, I guess Fury's about to find out the hard way." Steve finally says. "Or the easy way. Loki, you ready to go out there?" He looks to the god.
Loki smirks at him.
"Allow me then to demonstrate my preparedness." He replies. "Central Park. That is the place my brother and I traveled back to Asgard from, is it not?"
Steve nods.
"It is." He answers.
"Then I am already there." Loki says back.
And in a blinding flash of green and white, he is gone.
Thor hesitates only a moment before he moves to the balcony doors, tossing them open and throwing himself into the air, taking off with hammer in hand.
Everyone else is left speechless and stunned, sitting stupidly a long, few seconds, before they snap out of it and are left scrambling after, having first to suit up.
/
AN: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last time, and let me know what you think!